House Tour: The Wo Hing Society

Name: The Wo Hing SocietyLocation: Lahaina, Maui Size: Two story main building and adjacent cook house

"Wo Hing" means harmony and prosperity. It is the name of a cultural society formed in 1909 to provide a sense of community and support to the thousands of Chinese living on Maui at the time. The society built the structure in 1912 as a place to gather and celebrate as well as to serve as a temple.

The Wo Hing Society buildings now function as a museum, a snapshot of a home for a community in a foreign land.

There was so much to be inspired by: the glossy, perfectly kept-up painted wood floors, detailed decorative porch enclosures, a color mix of bright white, pale green and dark red, the combination of metal, wood and paper altar pieces with fruit and flowers, the aged wood signs and furniture against the freshly painted walls and the dim glow of the old-fashioned light bulbs suspended throughout.